by Ren Haijun

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday narrowly passed a bill aimed at capping and reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and lowering the country's dependence on foreign oil, in what experts say a critical step toward tackling climate change.

The bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES Act), was passed by a vote of 219-212 after hours of bitter debate.

SIGNIFICANT MEANING

As the biggest economy in the world with the highest per capita carbon dioxide emissions, what the U.S. does in its response to climate change will have a direct bearing on the international community's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, analysts said.

They added that any substantive progress at the Copenhage climate change talks scheduled for December this year will hinge to a large extent on whether Washington agrees to set mandatory emissions targets.

Under the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, the U.S. climate policy aroused deep disappointment and great dismay in the international community. The Bush administration also withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, making the U.S. a target of criticism at almost all climate negotiations.

After taking office in January this year, the new U.S. government took a stance in stark contrast to that of the previous administrations. The passage of the bill is considered to be a personal triumph for President Barack Obama, as he has made great efforts to push the House of Representatives to pass the historic bill.

Praising the House for passing the legislation, Obama said: "It's a bold and necessary step that holds the promise of creating new industries and millions of new jobs, decreasing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil."

He said such a bill will finally spark a clean energy transformation and help the U.S. lead the global economy in the 21st century.

It is "the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country," said Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts, "It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy."

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore posted a statement on his Website saying the measure represents "an essential first step towards solving the climate crisis." Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to draw attention to the destructive potential result of global warming.

Eileen Claussen, president of U.S. think tank Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said the bill has "international implications."

"Enactment of a comprehensive energy and climate bill along the lines of the ACES Act will finally allow the United States to help lead the efforts toward a global agreement in which the major economies of the world, both developed and developing, play their part to address climate change, " Claussen said in a statement.

MAIN PROVISIONS

The bill calls for a 17 percent reduction in emissions of heat-trapping gases from the 2005 levels by 2020. That is less ambitious than the target of 20 percent initially sought, but slightly more aggressive than the approximately 15 percent that President Obama has proposed.

The bill sets further pollution reduction goals -- 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050, with the latter just slightly higher than what Obama has suggested.

It establishes a cap-and-trade program to control climate-altering emissions, allowing companies to meet emission-limiting targets by investing in offset projects such as tree planting and forest protection.

The legislation also dictates an increase in the use of renewable energy sources and sets new efficiency standards for buildings, lighting and industrial facilities.

The bill requires new buildings to be 30 percent more energy-efficient by 2012 and 50 percent more efficient by 2016.

By 2020, electric utilities must produce at least 15 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy, according to the bill.

DEEP RIFTS

The fact that the bill was narrowly passed reveals the rifts between Democrats and Republicans. After the bill's passage, Democrats hailed the legislation as historic, while Republicans said it would damage the economy without solving the nation's energy woes.

Democrats said the bill will create more "green jobs," decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oils and convert the U.S. economy to a more efficient one.

"Just remember these four words for what this legislation means -- jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Let's vote for jobs," Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi exhorted her colleagues minutes before the vote.

However, Republicans warned the measure would send energy costs skyrocketing and denounced it as "the biggest job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House."

The controversy surrounding the bill was self-evident in the House, where only eight Republicans joined 211 Democrats in favor, while 44 Democrats joined 168 Republicans in opposition.

Big compromises are needed to heal the deep rifts.

One big compromise involved the near total elimination of an administration plan to sell pollution permits to raise more than 600 billion dollars over a decade, and the money would be used to finance continuation of a middle class tax cut.

However, after heated debate, the plan was changed whereby about 85 percent of the permits are to be given away rather than sold, a concession to energy companies and their allies in the House -- and even that is uncertain to survive in the Senate.

In order to protect consumers from rising energy costs, the bill also requires giving rebates and credits to low-income households.

After the passage of the bill, Obama said: "Now it's up to the Senate to take the next step." The U.S. Senate is expected to try to write its own version of a climate change bill, and whether the bill can manage its way through the Senate by the end of this year remains uncertain.